RisghtStart with a 3 year old?

[Holiztic]

So before I ask this, I have to explain we come from a Waldorf background and had every intention of just playing and exploring with no instruction or academics at all (not even toys with letters and numbers on them!) until DS was at least 5 or even 6.

 

But we don't always get the kind of kid we expect, do we? (I LOVE having a gifted son, BTW--he's amazing and so so sweet!!)

 

He's been doing math on his own (like "Mommy, there are 3 apples, if Daddy eats one there will be two left--one for you and one for me") since he was just past 2. Now he begs me for what he calls "homeschool math"--which just means me making up word problems like the above. He can do them totally mentally with nothing to look at/touch and he doesn't count (at least not out loud--and answers too quickly to count in his head I think).

 

He's still on small numbers, as we don't really 'practice' much (I am still uncomfortable with such a little kid "doing school" even if he does love it!! Paradigm shifts are hard!!!) Today (he's just past 3) we did "how many stools are at that counter (we were at a restaurant)?" DS: "Four" Me: "If three people come and sit, how many will be empty?" DS: "One" He's just moved onto addition and subtraction involving 4 as the highest number in the last 2 months. He can do a little higher--by counting on his fingers or with 'manipulative' (toy cars, etc). I think 6+2 or similar (he does not know "plus" yet, must be a word problem for him) would be tops--but he's shaky on this.

 

I am thinking of getting RightStart and doing it very slowly, informally (not on a schedule--playing games for weeks after learning a concept, maybe). I did their little questionnaire to figure out what level to get--it said B.

 

Then when I look in the curriculum forums here (not accelerated, though) there are mostly 6 and 7 (even 8) year olds doing level B. DS is clearly ahead, gifted, whatever--but I do not believe he's at the level of an average 7 year old (???).

 

So I plan to get Level A for sure--even if he could do B we just want something gentle and fun and right at/slightly above his current level.

 

All that rambling to ask this:

 

If we do Level A very slowly, here and there--for fun really--how long could we make it last? A year, a year-and-a-half? My worry is about doing A and B and suddenly being at C when he's 4.5 or 5 and it being too much. What are my options then? I wouldn't want to take a year off--and I don't think I'd want to stall by doing level B games for a year. Maybe another curriculum that is RS B level but would give a little variety/different perspective, or maybe something that would bridge B &C? (I haven't look at level C samples yet, I am picking it arbitrarily as a place we'd need to slow down if we start this early.) You can replace B/C with C/D or whatever--just a point where we may find we've accelerated a bit too much.

 

Finally, any other ideas to have some very gentle (informal--and no, he does not write) instruction/games at DS' level that would keep us in the "not quite starting formal academics yet" camp for another year plus but would not hurt our starting RS (and its way of counting/adding) at 4-4.5??

 

Any other thoughts welcome!

 

Thanks!

[2smartones]

Finally, any other ideas to have some very gentle (informal--and no, he does not write) instruction/games at DS' level that would keep us in the "not quite starting formal academics yet" camp for another year plus but would not hurt our starting RS (and its way of counting/adding) at 4-4.5??

 

My oldest was like that, and still is in many ways. Sounds like you have a visual learner. Mine thrived on word problems right from the start, but number problems were and are a struggle.

 

I don't know about RS (haven't used it), but other gentle ideas with an emphasis on visual learning w/o writing are fractions and geometry. You can use anything from Lego blocks to cooking with mom for fractions, and you can talk about geometric shapes by counting their faces/sides, angles/points, and edges. You'll be introducing vocabulary without him even realizing it.

[lisaj]

I plan on trying Rightstart A with my little one when he becomes 3 next year. Since my 5 year old breezed through B and half of C during the 2nd half of his kindergarten year, I think A is probably simple enough for many highly gifted 3-4 year olds. I think they have the beginning pages as downloadable samples on the righstart website if you'd like to look at what they do.

 

Meanwhile, I'm also a fan of the Critical Thinking Company's materials because they are logic-focused. My 2 year old likes to play school with Mathematical Reasoning Level 1 (for 3). Unlike regular workbooks that require too much writing before their fine motor skills are sufficiently developed, this book is more of a lap book with a lot of pointing/talking about mathmatical concepts. There are lots of free pages on the critical thinking website. You might enjoy checking that out, too.

 

Btw, my 18 year old stepson has been in Waldorf schools since 2nd grade. I generally don't follow it with my little guys, but there are lots of wonderful ideas that I've learned through those philosophies. :)

[Aurelia]

If he did finish B and found C to be too much of a challenge, you could play games out of the RS games book, which covers concepts from A-E. You could also take a break and work with a different program like Miquon or Calculus By and For Young People. Kitchen Table Math (from the Art of Problem Solving folks) makes me drool every time I see it, and it's meant for kids aged 2-8.

[MissKNG]

DId you call and talk with someone at RS? The questionnaire told me B as well when I used it for my then almost 3.5 year old. So I called and told them about my big girl and RS A was suggested regardless of what the questionnaire said. I agree with the other posters who said A should be meaty enough for even a highly gifted 3 or 4 year old. You could always add MEP or Miquon if more is needed.

 

We didn't end up using RS though!

[Holiztic]

I plan on trying Rightstart A with my little one when he becomes 3 next year. Since my 5 year old breezed through B and half of C during the 2nd half of his kindergarten year, I think A is probably simple enough for many highly gifted 3-4 year olds. I think they have the beginning pages as downloadable samples on the righstart website if you'd like to look at what they do.

 

 

Yes, they do have very good sample on their website. I did lessons 1 and 2 with him last week and he just did them (meaning there was no teaching involved and no real need for 'practice').

 

I think we'll go ahead and order A and start slowly. Thanks for the input all!

[Holiztic]

My oldest was like that, and still is in many ways. Sounds like you have a visual learner. Mine thrived on word problems right from the start, but number problems were and are a struggle.

 

I don't know about RS (haven't used it), but other gentle ideas with an emphasis on visual learning w/o writing are fractions and geometry. You can use anything from Lego blocks to cooking with mom for fractions, and you can talk about geometric shapes by counting their faces/sides, angles/points, and edges. You'll be introducing vocabulary without him even realizing it.

 

I am not sure how number problems will be--he's literally never heard or seen one (you mean like "what is four plus two?" right?)

 

I thought he was a serious auditory learner (but I am confused about this topic!!) because he can hear the problem and answer it without seeing anything. He's also not great at remembering things he's seen (I think) like he doesn't recognize numerals. Even though we don't do anything at all with numerals (not even counting books)--I've pointed out 1-3 a handful of times (once every 2 months maybe) on a sign or something--and he's only known 1 for ages. This is the kind of thing he'd have down in one try with auditory stuff (like remember what a "big" or unusual word means after hearing the definition once and then he uses it, correctly, a week later.

 

When I look at checklists of visual vs auditory he's mostly auditory but a number of things in the visual list are totally him too (maybe 65/35).

 

Maybe it is too soon to tell--or maybe he'll be a nice mix??

[shinyhappypeople]

We haven't used RS, so I can't comment on that. However, if you haven't already done so, I really encourage you to read "The 3 Rs" by Ruth Beechick. She has many excellent ideas for teaching math without the child needing to write. I think the gentleness and hands-on learning approach might really appeal to your Waldorf side.

 

Also, check out pattern blocks (esp. with a book like "Patternables"), tangrams and geoboards. They're all really fun, age appropriate and creative ways to build a strong foundation for mathematical thinking.

[kimo]

There's a book call Family Math that has projects for several different levels.

[2smartones]

I am not sure how number problems will be--he's literally never heard or seen one (you mean like "what is four plus two?" right?)

 

I thought he was a serious auditory learner (but I am confused about this topic!!) because he can hear the problem and answer it without seeing anything. He's also not great at remembering things he's seen (I think) like he doesn't recognize numerals. Even though we don't do anything at all with numerals (not even counting books)--I've pointed out 1-3 a handful of times (once every 2 months maybe) on a sign or something--and he's only known 1 for ages. This is the kind of thing he'd have down in one try with auditory stuff (like remember what a "big" or unusual word means after hearing the definition once and then he uses it, correctly, a week later.

 

When I look at checklists of visual vs auditory he's mostly auditory but a number of things in the visual list are totally him too (maybe 65/35).

 

Maybe it is too soon to tell--or maybe he'll be a nice mix??

 

Probably a bit of a mix. I also thought mine was auditory until we talked to his psychologist. We realized he has to make a mental picture of everything or else it doesn't make sense. He can learn through music very easily, but overall, he's a visual learner.